An Indian Air Force’s MiG 21 fighter jet crashed after a technical malfunction in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh on 18 July.

According to local media, the MiG-21 supersonic jet fighter had taken off from the Pathankot air base on a routing sortie. It crashed around 1:20 pm in Patta Jattian village in Jawali, around 70 km from Dharamshala.

As per agency sources, the pilot of the jet is missing, while a rescue team is on its way to evacuation.

Local residents have posted the video at social networks that showing the wreckage of the jet which took off from Punjab’s Pathankot, a frontline Indian Air Force base. Visuals from the site of the accident showed the debris of the aircraft engulfed in flames, lying in what appears to be a field.

Superintendent of Police, Kangra, Santosh Patial confirmed that the aircraft crashed at around 1.30 pm. According to reports, the MiG 21 aircraft took off from the Pathankot Air Base. There are no details available on what happened to the pilot.

“There was a pilot in the plane, details are awaited on whether he ejected safely,” said Santosh Patial.

But later, the Asian News International reported that the fighter pilot of the MiG 21 Indian aircraft that crashed in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district has died.